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Lower 48 Wolf Delisting Comments

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required by law to accept public comments before they can make their final decision on this misguided proposal. Defenders plans to use this 90 day comment period to organize strong and vocal opposition from supporters like you to make sure the decision makers in Washington hear what America thinks about the premature delisting of gray wolves.

Gray wolf recovery is not complete. This decision could derail wolf recovery efforts in areas around the country where it has barely begun — in places like the Pacific Northwest and in states that possess some of the nation's best unoccupied wolf habitat, such as northern California, Colorado, and Utah.

Delisting would prematurely turn wolf management over to the states. We've already seen what can happen when rabid anti-wolf politics are allowed to trump science and core wildlife management principles.

Montana, Wyoming and Idaho — where wolves have already been delisted — are not managing wolves like other wildlife such as elk, deer, and bears. Instead they're intending to drive the wolves' population numbers back down to the bottom.

Other species, such as the bald eagle, American alligator and peregrine falcon, were declared recovered and delisted when they occupied a much larger portion of their former range. Wolves deserve the same chance at real recovery.